Socialism Order of Worth and Analytical Adequacy Axiom

Human Studies - Boltanski and Thévenot (On justification. Economies of worth, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2006) constructed in their seminal work On Justification the Orders of...     

Wittgenstein and Cassirer on Hinges and Relativity

The paper explores the striking similarities between some of Wittgenstein’s core claims in On Certainty (1969), including the famous hinge metaphor, and Cassirer’s Einstein’s Theory of Relativity (1921). Moreover, it suggests that Wittgenstein’s remark on relativity in On Certainty might have been triggered by his reading of Cassirer’s book.     

In defense of abstractionist theories of repetition priming and word identification

There is a great deal of interest in characterizing the representations and processes that support visual word priming and written word identification more generally. On one view, these phenomena are supported by abstract orthographic representations that map together visually dissimilar exemplars of letters and words (e.g., the lettersA/a map onto a common abstract letter codea*). On a second view, orthographic codes consist in a collection of episodic representations of words that interact in such a way that it sometimes looksas if there are abstract codes. Tenpenny (1995) contrasted these general approaches and concluded by endorsing the episodic account, arguing that no evidence demands that we posit abstract orthographic representations. This review reconsiders the evidence and argues that a variety of priming and nonpriming research strongly supports the conclusion that abstract orthographic codes exist and support priming and word identification. On this account, episodic representations are represented separately from abstract orthographic knowledge and contribute minimally to these functions.     

Trinity and Apologetics In the Theology of St. Augustine

This article examines Trinitarian themes in St. Augustine's City of God and in his On the Trinity. It argues that the scope and intention of the latter work can be clarified to some extent by noticing the apologetic commitments entailed in the exposition of the doctrine of the Trinity in the former. It argues against the tendency of some recent scholarship to restrict the intelligibility of the On the Trinity to converted Christians, even as it also defends the irreducibility of the doctrine of the Trinity, in Augustine's thinking, to any doctrine of pagan learning. Without prejudice to recent scholarly clarifications of the polemical origins of some of the arguments in the On the Trinity, the article argues (in effect) that the work is more than the sum of its polemical parts, and is intentionally addressed by Augustine to a wide readership, deliberately unspecified in identity except insofar as they are united as “human beings who are seeking God.” Just as ancient apologetics, including Augustine's, was addressed to a variety of people, pagan and Christian, in various states of conviction and conversion, so the On the Trinity is meant to address many types of readers, at various levels of conversion and understanding, hoping to bring all of them closer to—or to confirm and deepen their participation in—the true worship of the one true God, without which, Augustine believes, no one can ultimately find the God they seek.     

Effort and Moral Worth

One of the factors that contributes to an agent’s praiseworthiness and blameworthiness — his or her moral worth — is effort. On the one hand, agents who act effortlessly seem to have high moral worth. On the other hand, agents who act effortfully seem to have high moral worth as well. I explore and explain this pair of intuitions and the contour of our views about associated cases.     

Phenomenology,Realism and Logic

One never gets beyond time. Husserl, says only that there are many ways of living time. On the one hand, there is the passive way, in which one is inside time and submits to it—being in time [Innerzeitigkeit], On the other hand, one can take over this time and live it through for oneself. But in either case one is temporal and never gets beyond time.¹     

Blasphemy,dogmatism and injustice: The rough edges of On Certainty

On Certainty remains one the mostprovocative and challenging parts ofWittgenstein's intellectual legacy.Philosophers generally read this text as anassault on the traditional sceptic/anti-scepticdebate. But some commentators identifypolitical – specifically `conservative' –sentiments at work here. Others embraceWittgenstein's (alleged) `pluralism', whilethose less enthused think the latter collapsesinto relativism. Although this mixed receptionis, I will argue, partly due to Wittgenstein'sown troubled engagement with the central themesof On Certainty, the real difficultyand value of this text lies in itsintertwining questions of epistemology,religious belief and ethical-politicaljudgement.     

Conceivability and De Re Modal Knowledge

The paper presents a dilemma for both epistemic and non‐epistemic versions of conceivability‐based accounts of modal knowledge. On the one horn, non‐epistemic accounts do not elucidate the essentialist knowledge they would be committed to. On the other, epistemic accounts do not elucidate everyday life de re modal knowledge. In neither case, therefore, do conceivability accounts elucidate de re modal knowledge.     

Calibrated probabilities and the epistemology of disagreement

This paper assesses the comparative reliability of two belief-revision rules relevant to the epistemology of disagreement, the Equal Weight and Stay the Course rules. I use two measures of reliability for probabilistic belief-revision rules, calibration and Brier Scoring, to give a precise account of epistemic peerhood and epistemic reliability. On the calibration measure of reliability, epistemic peerhood is easy to come by, and employing the Equal Weight rule generally renders you less reliable than Staying the Course. On the Brier-Score measure of reliability, epistemic peerhood is much more difficult to come by, but employing the Equal Weight rule always renders you more reliable than Staying the Course. I conclude with some normative lessons we can draw from these formal results.     

The Ambivalent Effects of Participation on Performance and Job Stressors: The Role of Job Crafting and Autonomy

ABSTRACT

Literature provides mixed results on the effect of participatory practices on outcomes such as individual performance and job stressors. By examining these relationships via the mediation of job crafting behaviors, while considering the moderating effect of autonomy, we help clarifying the reasons behind the apparently ambiguous effects of participation. We surveyed 318 employees in an Italian mass retail company. On the one hand, we found a positive effect of participation on performance and a reduction of both role conflict and role overload thanks to increased job crafting behaviors aimed at seeking job resources. On the other hand, we also found that participation and autonomy may augment job stressors because of an associated increase of job crafting behaviors aimed at seeking challenging demands.     

Space curvature and repeatable properties,almost no problems with a peaceful coexistence

Book Information On Virtue Ethics. On Virtue Ethics Rosalind Hursthouse Oxford Oxford University Press 1999 ix + 275 Hardback £25 By Rosalind Hursthouse. Oxford University Press. Oxford. Pp. ix + 275. Hardback:£25,     

Differential recall of successes and failures: Its relationship to defensiveness,achievement motivation,and anxiety

Differential recall of completed and incompleted tasks under high and low stress was studied in 157 Ss. On the basis of repression, it would be expected that Ss identified as hysterics would recall fewer incompletions (ego threatening failures) under high than low stress. The results indicated that hysteria was not related to recall. On the other hand, Ss with high achievement motivation or low anxiety recalled more incompletions under high than low stress while there were no differences in their recall of completions under high and low stress. These results offered no support for repression. Furthermore, the relationships between recall and achievement motivation and anxiety suggest that the differential recall is due to differences in the original learning of the completed and incompleted tasks.     

Authority and Legitimisation: the Intraecclesial Strategy of Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens

Abstract?

The election of Ieronymos as archbishop of Athens took place at a critical moment for the Orthodox Church of Greece (OCG). On the one hand, the social credibility of religious bureaucracy was waning. On the other, a fundamentalist faction within the Synod was essentially questioning his authority. In order to confront these problems, Ieronymos found the necessary social and religious legitimisation via the partial democratisation of the administrative function of the OCG as well as the restoration of its relations with the Patriarchate of Constantinople (the Ecumenical Patriarchate). The decoding of this intraecclesial strategy, starting from his election in February 2008 until October 2009, is the topic of the present article.     

Value Inquiry: On concepts of good and evil in ethical theories

Editorial

Value Inquiry: On concepts of good and evil in ethical theories     

Consequentialist Teleology and the Valuation of States of Affairs

Elizabeth Anderson claims that states of affairs are merely extrinsically valuable, since we value them only in virtue of the intrinsically valuable (e.g.) persons in those states of affairs. Since it considers states of affairs to be the sole bearers of intrinsic value, Anderson argues that consequentialism is incoherent because it attempts to globally maximize extrinsic value. I respond to this objection by distinguishing between two forms of consequentialist teleology and arguing that Anderson's claim is either harmless or her argument for the claim is uncompelling. On the first conception of teleology, consequentialists need not hold that states of affairs are the sole bearers of intrinsic value, which allows them to deflect this criticism. On the second account of teleology, even assuming that states of affairs are the sole bearers of intrinsic value, Anderson's argument does not necessarily defeat such views.     

Work Performance and the Achievement—Strivings and Impatience—Irritability Dimensions of Type A Behaviour

On propose dans cette étude un modfèle selon lequel les efforts en vue de la réussite et les dimensions impatience-irritabilité du comportement de type A prédisent directement et/ou indirectement la performance au travail. Dans un échantillon de 92 hommes et de 69 femmes (âge moyen: 30 ans), les efforts en vue de la réussite sont tenus de prédire la performance professionnelle directement et par l'intermédiaire de leur action positive sur la concentration. On suppose que l'impatience-irritabilité va détériorer la santé; et tout problème de santé devrait influencer négativement la concentration. On a recueilli, pour apprécier la performance au travail, à la fois des auto-évaluations et celles du contremaître. Une analyse taxinomique a fortement corroboré le modèle retenu bien que la liaison indirecte entre les efforts en vue de la réussite et les évaluations de la performance par le contremaître ne soit pas statistiquement significative.
In this study, a model is proposed whereby the achievement-strivings and impatience–irritability dimensions of Type A behaviour predict work performance directly and/or indirectly. In a sample of 92 males and 69 females ( M age = 30 years), achievement strivings are held to predict work performance directly and through their positive effects on concentration. impatience–irritability is predicted to negatively influence health; and any health problems are predicted to negatively influence concentration. Both self- and supervisor ratings of work performance were obtained. Path analyses provided strong support for the proposed model, although the direct link between achievement strivings and supervisor ratings of performance was not statistically significant.     

Use of Educational and Psychological Tests Internationally

Les aspects internationaux du développement et de l'usage des tests sont traités ici, en particulier pour situer les articles de cette édition spéciale. On présente succinctement l'utilisation internationale des tests ainsi que l'histoire, l'impact des conditions externes et internes, les normes et les lignes directrices du développement et de l'usage des tests. On parle aussi des organisations régionales et internationales actives dans le domaine du développement et de l'usage des tests, sans oublier les initiatives de structures comme la Commission Internationale des Tests.
International aspects of test development and use are described, in part, to provide a context for other articles in this special issue. The history of test development and use, external and internal conditions that impact test development and use, test use internationally, together with standards and guidelines for test development and use are summarised. Regional and international organisations providing leadership in test development and use as well as leadership efforts by the International Test Commission and others are discussed.     

The Principle of Contradiction and Symbolic Logic

This is the first English translation directly based on the original Polish ‘Zasada sprzeczno?ci a logika symboliczna’, the appendix on symbolic logic of Jan ?ukasiewicz's 1910 book O zasadzie sprzeczno?ci u Arytotelesa (On the Principle of Contradiction in Aristotle).     

Eliminating Racism: Dummett's On Immigration and Refugees and the Philosophy of Language

abstract   This paper examines a claim made by Michael Dummett in his recent book On Immigration and Refugees that the feeling of racism can be removed by the creation of a social climate in which the expression of that feeling is disreputable. I suggest that Dummett's claim can be better appreciated if viewed in the light of some guiding principles of his project in the philosophy of language. With these principles in place, I argue that they provide convincing support for Dummett's claim, as well as showing an important connection between On Immigration and Dummett's broader philosophical concerns. I conclude the essay by suggesting some ways in which the insights gleaned from Dummett's philosophy may be applied to the case of asylum seekers and their representation by the media and in political rhetoric.     

The functional independence of mands and tacts

This study demonstrates functional independence in the acquisition of mands and tacts. Some subjects first learned to mand the experimenter's placement of objects with the prepositional phrases “On the left” and “On the right.” They were regularly tested for collateral appearance of tacts with these same phrases. Other subjects learned to tact the location of objects with these prepositional phrases and were regularly tested for collateral appearance of mands. All subjects were next trained in the repertoire that had not been trained in the first condition (either tact or mand). After all subjects had learned both to mand and to tact correctly, another assessment of mand-tact independence was undertaken. Mands (tacts) were reversed and testing assessed collateral reversal of tacts (mands). The results demonstrated that tacts and mands, even when incorporating identical response forms, were functionally independent during acquisition. Subsequent modification of one repertoire (by reversal training) produced collateral reversal in three of nine subjects.